A League of Her OwnA longtime advocate for girls who want to play baseball, Justine Siegal ’98 made history by becoming the first woman to throw batting practice in Major League Baseball. Today, through her organization, Baseball for All, she is creating meaningful opportunities for girls to play the game. St. Olaf, Spring 2015

Saving the White PineIn northern Minnesota, there was a time when the state’s foresters were pessimistic about the survival of the white pine – until Jack Rajala stepped in. A third-generation timber man, Rajala is also a conservationist and one of the foremost practitioners of returning big stands of white pine to the Minnesota forest. St. Olaf, Fall 2014

Bearing WitnessSetting down roots in the idyllic Willamette River Valley, Oregon’s Pinot Noir country, two St. Olaf families are living a wine country dream. St. Olaf, Fall 2013

Gut ReactionAt the University of Minnesota, Dr. Alexander Khoruts and other researchers are saving lives with fecal transplants and exploring other wonders of this little understood microbial world. Minnesota, Summer 2013

Making WavesWhen Charles Hall (B.A., ’67; M.A., ’68) invented the modern waterbed as an industrial design student at SF State 45 years ago, little did he realize how his invention would shape the rest of his career. SF State Magazine, Fall/Winter 2013

Back to NatureMost of us remember our parents admonishing us to “go play outside!” Today, as technology threatens to overwhelm us, we would do well to turn off our electronic devices and embrace the outdoors. Carleton College Voice, Winter 2014

Species DefenderWhen Macalester Biology Professor Mark Davis expounds publicly on exotic species—creatures from dandelions to carp that come from somewhere else—he eventually mentions LLT, his shorthand for Learn to Love Them.Macalester Today, July 2010

Call of the WildForsaking the world of finance for the Alaska Coalition, Scott Hed is fighting to protect one of America’s last frontiers: Bristol Bay, Alaska. St. Olaf, Spring 2012

A Natural MatchA joint venture between St. Olaf and The Nature Conservancy provides classroom opportunities for biology students along the Mississippi River. St. Olaf, Fall 2011

The Road Less TraveledTechnical skills and roaming curiosity lead College of Science and Engineering alumni down unexpected paths.University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering, October 2014

FrenemiesBacteria: warm, fuzzy little friends that contain the answers to life and combat ills ranging from pollution to obesity? Or horrible pathogens that are out to destroy us? Bacteria are both of those things—and these Carls seek to harness their power. Carleton College Voice, Summer 2014

Who’s Minding the Animals?If your vision of large-animal veterinarians is James Herriot, things have changed a lot.Minnesota, Fall 2010

Life on the RiverDawn is the bewitching hour. Fog rises from the glasslike river. Shadows of cliffs loom to right and left as the indigo sky above turns slowly to bright blue. The cities on either side of the river—St. Paul to the east, Minneapolis to the west—begin to stir as traffic crosses the black arch of the Lake Street bridge. Macalester Today, November 2014

From the Sewage Plant, the Promise of BiofuelResearchers throughout the world are working to produce biofuel from algae. But a few are trying a decidedly novel approach: Using an abundant and freely available source — human waste — to make the fuel of the future while also treating sewage. Yale Environment 360

Unthinkable . . . Until NowResearch by Daniel Voytas, a plant geneticist at the University of Minnesota, is revolutionizing the study and modification in plants, animals, and even human genes. Minnesota, Spring 2013

Playing with FireNatural disturbances combined with human tampering will change the face of the North Woods.Minnesota, November-December 2008

Iron Resolve The University's School of Public health is leading a vast partnership to discover why so many Iron Range taconite miners are dying of a brutal lung disease. Minnesota, May-June 2009